Tell us about yourself and what you will bring to the learning community at UCLA Anderson. (500 word maximum)
I love to add value.
Professionally. Personally. Anecdotally. Whether I’m developing new SOPs to add clarity for a direct report, spending 15 minutes cleaning the kitchen before bed, or chasing someone down at Whole Foods after they dropped their wallet, I obsess over my impact on the world, and strive to remain net positive.
As someone who lives a productive life, the pursuit of work/life balance never resonated with me. I find myself instead pursuing work/life harmony.
I enjoy solving difficult problems and caring deeply about my career. Sometimes I find it difficult to truly “clock out”. My best ideas for work may come in the shower, on a run, or over a drink with friends. I don’t want to question my priorities when I’m not working; I want to celebrate that I found a solution! That is harmony to me.
Michael Seibel, CEO of Y Combinator, says that when building a company, it’s important to hire people who increase the average talent of your team. I think many recruiters read that quite literally and conclude they need to hire someone who is the best of the best in a certain position. A manager with an abundance of 89/100s would aim to hire someone who is a 90+ in order to increase the “average talent.” I like to think I elevate this average in a different, crucial way. I may not be the statistical “best” in a specific field; however, I am confident that when I join a team I help everyone around me improve their performance.
We often look for unicorns and outliers who are breaking through ceilings and chasing new heights. But what does that truly solve? How does one more billionaire help the world? I’ve always wondered what would happen if rather than focusing on breaking through the ceiling, we focused on raising the floor. Many more people live in the bottom 1% wealth bracket than the top 1%. If we changed our focus toward raising the floor, I believe the impact would be exponentially greater to society.
I have been committed to honoring the relationships in my life since I was a child. Maybe it’s because I’m originally from a small town of only a few thousand people. Maybe it’s because I have seen the benefits that have come from supporting people and their goals. Maybe I just have a genuine curiosity for people and human relationships. Either way, one thing I know for sure is that showing up for people is always net positive.
The prospect of actively participating in the learning community at UCLA Anderson provides perhaps the biggest inspiration to apply to the MBA program. I always do my best to get to know my peers, but the idea of being a part of a community of ambitious, entrepreneurial, and passionate professionals aligns perfectly with my current goals.
What are your short and long term career goals and what aspects of UCLA Anderson will support you in achieving those goals? (500 word maximum)
A little over five years ago I was verbally abused at a job by someone senior to me who screamed obscenities towards me and physically threatened me.
That moment broke my heart. I had never been spoken to in that way (neither professionally nor personally), and just days before the experience I felt confident that I would be working for the company for several more years.
Despite efforts to address the incident in a professional manner, the owner of the company responded with sarcasm, belittling, and diversion efforts to mitigate what happened. I quit three days after the incident.
The disturbing thought - “I can’t believe I just got paid to have that happen to me” - gnawed at me for weeks.
Although at the time the decision was painful, depressing, and created plenty of new obstacles, it forced me to reevaluate my relationship with work. I became much more introspective about my career goals, and gained tremendous clarity as to what’s important in navigating the most diverse, action packed, and open ended phase of life.
My goal became discovering a career path that I was good at, I enjoyed, would benefit the world, and - of course - where I could make a living.
As someone who is passionate about the plant and who naturally excels in fast moving environments, I decided to spend the last five years learning the ins and outs of the California Cannabis industry. The experience has been incredible. I’ve gained first hand operational experience in critical business functions, including supply chains, balance sheets, team management, layoffs, hiring, compliance, government relations, and almost everything in between. I often remark that I've been pursuing my PhD in “Cannabis, with an emphasis in California” because of the intensive breadth of knowledge and subject matter granularity required to thrive in California’s industry.
Working in cannabis means being an advocate for disadvantaged communities. It means actively participating in local government. It’s not just an opportunity to build a career, but also provides ongoing opportunities to make a tangible positive impact on society.
I remain motivated to gain more experience and hone my expertise in this industry over the next several years, but as I look to the future decades of my career, I hope to broaden my influence.
If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go further, go together. The experience attending and building community at UCLA as an undergrad laid the foundation for how I carry myself in the world. As I continue to reflect on how to maximize my impact, connecting with fellow entrepreneurial, empathetic, and driven people always works its way to the top of the list.
Not only would I polish my professional skill set and further my ability to succeed at the current stage of my career, completing Anderson’s coursework and participating in a motivated community would deepen my knowledge of other industries, opportunities, and pathways to create a larger impact for years to come.
If there is anything else you would like to share to the admission committee, please do so here. (500 word maximum) Examples: upcoming job change plans, commute plans, adverse circumstances, etc
I’ve had 15 different employers in the last 10 years.
Many mentors in my life encouraged me to use my 20s to explore my passions. Take risks. Prospect future plans. I followed that advice. My roles have ranged from UCLA student government Facilities Commissioner to managing my stepmom’s Sausalito chocolate shop.
For many years my wife and I had the quote “You can either be comfortable or you can grow” written on our bathroom mirror as a daily reminder of the benefits of being both highly adaptable and willing to push ourselves.
Over the past decade, we have enjoyed the diversity of lives we have lived. We lived on a houseboat for a year. We backpacked through South America for several months. We shifted cities, industries, and employers multiple times.
Last year I turned 30. This year my wife turns 30. As we enter this decade of our lives, our focus has shifted from nearly full variability year over year to a hybrid of fixed routines and daily spontaneity that provides both substantial comfort and abundant opportunities for us to push ourselves.
Behind us are the days of a new lease every year; we closed on a condo in Long Beach last year and love our new home. The desire to constantly search for a more exciting role has diminished; we have both found employers that value our contributions and positively develop our skill sets. We are transitioning away from a world behind screens as society transitions from a COVID-19 pandemic to a COVID-19 endemic; we continue to commit to meeting new people, fostering relationships, and building our community.
Despite a deep curiosity for continued education, until recently the idea of committing to any advanced academic program seemed out of reach for me. There were too many variables at any given time for me to feel comfortable applying to a program that lasted more than a year. Also, just being honest here, I’m tremendously biased towards UCLA. I’m a proud alumnus, and couldn’t really imagine myself pursuing a degree from any other institution.
The alignment of career, housing, and community has all fallen into place, making me comfortable with the prospect of longer term commitments. Having built this foundation in Los Angeles, home to UCLA, I believe now is the perfect time to explore an additional degree. The FEMBA program also aligns perfectly with my career goals. I have no desire to pause my current career and pathway, but I am deeply motivated to continue to grow and push myself as a professional.
One of my favorite books of all time, The Alchemist, encourages us to listen to “the Soul of the World”. For years the world seemed to be pushing and pulling me in different directions. I was building resilience, gaining experience, and paving a new path forward. Recently though, that energy has shifted. I now genuinely believe it’s telling me to spend my next few years at Anderson, and I couldn’t be more excited.